The gripping story of Private Chelsea Manning, the soldier who is alleged to have leaked nearly half a million classified documents

Chelsea Manning was arrested, imprisoned in solitary confinement for nine months, and court-martialed for leaking nearly half a million classified government documents, including the infamous “Collateral Murder” gunsight video. She was an intelligence analyst in the US Army’s 10th Mountain Division, is twenty-four, and comes from Crescent, Oklahoma.

But who is Private First Class Chelsea Manning? Why did she commit the largest security breach in American history—and why was it so easy? In this book, the astonishing leaks attributed to Chelsea Manning are viewed from many angles, from Tunisia to Guantánamo Bay, from Foggy Bottom to Baghdad to small-town Oklahoma. Around the world, the eloquent act of one young woman obliges citizens to ask themselves if they have the right to know what their government is doing.

Reviews

“As this fine and important study reports, Chelsea Manning holds to the principle that ‘it’s important the public should know what its government is doing.’ Release of the Wikileaks documents has been a courageous and important service to this cause.”

– Noam Chomsky

“Time after time, patriotic whistleblowers like Chelsea Manning are fired, shunned, or prosecuted, despite their heroic efforts to protect the public from a secretive government’s illegal activities. It’s time to do what we can to protect these brave souls, and reading Chase Madar’s fine book is an excellent start.”

– Former US Senator James Abourezk

“Chase Madar has written a powerful, compelling and moving defense of Chelsea Manning. Bravo!”

– Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner

“The mistreatment, trial, and fate of Private Chelsea Manning will undoubtedly read like an obituary on the Obama years. Her case is a crucial one, and Chase Madar turned his sharp eye on it early. This is the single must-read book on the case.”

– Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch.com

“The Passion of Chelsea Manning reminds us that it was James Madison himself who wrote that a popular government without popular information is but a prelude to tragedy or farce. Author and lawyer Chase Madar tells a great story that raises critical questions about the appropriate balance of government secrecy and national security in a modern democracy.”